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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

And Finally, I'm Not the Only One Saying I Could Live Here!!!

Our next stop was Santa Barbara to which neither of us had ever been.  We had to be 'tendered' -- i.e. there is no port, the ship anchors out in the harbor and passengers board tenders and are taken to shore.  Tenders are also the life boats and are comfortable and can seat about 150 people.  The crew that pilots these boats are usually quite expert as were ours.



This was the Santa Barbara Welcoming Committee.  (I didn't take this -- Marge took it on the tender with her phone!! Her pilot backed the tender up so people could get pictures.)  Aside from being large, loud, smelly, and territorial, sea lions are cute.

We had decided that since the town was so close, we wouldn't do an excursion, but would set out on foot on our own.  We wanted to walk around at our leisure and seek out a great place for lunch.  

Richard and David walk ahead.  (If this path looks familiar, it's where the opening to THREE'S COMPANY was shot (John Ritter on a bike going off into the sand...)



We headed East on State Street into the center of town.  Look at those mountains!!!

   

Streets were lined with beautiful trees and bougainvillea and for the first time, I wasn't the one saying "I could really live here!!"




Our first stop was at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, oftentimes seen in the silly but good show PSYCH.



The architecture is quite beautiful -- and department stores and movie theaters are all part of the landscape.  This is a Macy's Department Store.





Our next stop was Arts and Letters Cafe, a lovely art gallery featuring several of Andrew Wyeth's original paintings as well as others, and an elegant farm to table cafe where we had a WONDERFUL lunch.



Richard and I then walked back to the ship, and Margie and David continued to meander through the stores and markets.  It felt good to spot our temporary 'home' floating in the harbor.



We left that evening and sadly said good-bye to Santa Barbara.



10 comments:

George said...

I think I could happily live there -- or at least enjoy an extended visit. The town and location are beautiful.

Bilbo said...

It is a beautiful town ... but when you talked about the large, loud, smelly, and territorial greeting committee, I was afraid it had gone all extreme right-wing since I was last there...

Sally Wessely said...

I do love Santa Barbara. I'm glad you enjoyed your time there.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Beautiful area. My sister-in-law had relatives in Santa Barbara --and she and my brother visited there sometimes. I have never been there--but I would love to go sometime.

Hugs,
Betsy

Kay said...

Art says we passed Solvang and Santa Barbara on our way back to L.A. Sounds like we didn't stop there, but your photos make me think we should have. Gorgeous photos!

Forsythia said...

We were there in 1963 and loved it.

Kimberly said...

Looks like a place I must visit!

Barb said...

Kathy, I often visited Santa Barbara years ago when my husband still had his business - the conventions were held there. We also took our oldest Grands when they were 3, and we traveled to a wedding in CA. It's a fantasy town - beautiful landscapes and fabulous homes.

Mage said...

Now I know to eat there next time we go up. Ohai, a tiny place near Santa Barbara, is also nice. Boy, that ship is sooooooo big against the flat landscape. Sorry you didn't get to the Mission. It's worth it. Next time. :)

Forsythia said...

Sorry to be disillusioned about "loud and smelly" sea lions, because they look so cute on that buoy.